This morning was just one of those mornings when everything had to come out of every cupboard and toy box but nothing was played with. I have yet to understand the need for this as a child behaviour but apparently it must be necessary. The photos do not do justice to the devastation that was every corner of our house.
We headed off mid morning to Arundel to join home ed friends and took a walk around Swanbourne lake. It was beautiful and perfect for Bean. Being with others really spurs him on to do things he often muses he wishes he could do but will look at and not do them. This is the case with climbing and I think having others do it in front of him enables him to see that it is possible and gives him the confidence to have a go. Every time I turned around he was climbing a new tree or roots or hill. Pumpkin even joined in for a while.
We also saw lots of wildlife. Pumpkin made me take a photo of one of the ducks so that we could 'find it in a book when we get home.' We found a dead rabbit which fascinated the boys, guts out and flies. Pumpkin and I spotted a coots nest with baby coots in it. I've never seen baby coots before, they have red heads, who would have thought? There was also a baby slow worm and a honey bee nest.
We also saw lots of wildlife. Pumpkin made me take a photo of one of the ducks so that we could 'find it in a book when we get home.' We found a dead rabbit which fascinated the boys, guts out and flies. Pumpkin and I spotted a coots nest with baby coots in it. I've never seen baby coots before, they have red heads, who would have thought? There was also a baby slow worm and a honey bee nest.
 |
| Pumpkin sharing his ice lolly |
The walk around the lake was followed by an ice-cream, a play in the play park and a non paddle in the river. Although others did go in for a paddle, we decided that it was too deep and stood and watched praying that they didn't slip and fall (they didn't.) Bean was really interested in the fact that the River Arun flows here as this is the same river that runs past our house. Must must must look it up on a map for him.
Pumpkin was getting tired and we left the group in the river. Bean decided that he was very tired and couldn't walk anymore. I couldn't really blame him as he had walked, climbed, run for most of the day. He was also saying his arm hurt. A very unpleasant 55 minutes followed as we walked the 1/4 mile to the car along a road with no path. We had to stop three times just to wait for Bean to stop crying and shouting and walk with us again. He out rightly refused to move even when our friends caught up with us and offered to walk with him. It was helped a little however when I remembered that I had a snickers bar in the bottom of my bag (peanuts for energy) and a bottle of water and finally Pumpkin let Bean jump in the buggy whilst he walked a little. It was a real test of my patience but I honestly had no other options and as much as I felt like screaming and shouting at him I knew it would only make things worse. Lots of deep breathing, counting to ten and admiring the beautiful setting that we were in. (This was the mountain that I had to climb today!) Fortunately Plum was asleep at this point. I later discovered an enormous bruise on his arm as he made me inspect it when he was in the bath and it was still hurting. It's got a bit of a bump to it too.
For a hot day Plum had very little feeds and very infrequently until we got home and then she had two huge feeds within an hour of each other. Plum and I shared a bath tonight, which was lovely and our bed time rhythm was slightly disrupted by Plum's late afternoon marathon sleep and Bean's sleep on the journey home.
Pumpkin was getting tired and we left the group in the river. Bean decided that he was very tired and couldn't walk anymore. I couldn't really blame him as he had walked, climbed, run for most of the day. He was also saying his arm hurt. A very unpleasant 55 minutes followed as we walked the 1/4 mile to the car along a road with no path. We had to stop three times just to wait for Bean to stop crying and shouting and walk with us again. He out rightly refused to move even when our friends caught up with us and offered to walk with him. It was helped a little however when I remembered that I had a snickers bar in the bottom of my bag (peanuts for energy) and a bottle of water and finally Pumpkin let Bean jump in the buggy whilst he walked a little. It was a real test of my patience but I honestly had no other options and as much as I felt like screaming and shouting at him I knew it would only make things worse. Lots of deep breathing, counting to ten and admiring the beautiful setting that we were in. (This was the mountain that I had to climb today!) Fortunately Plum was asleep at this point. I later discovered an enormous bruise on his arm as he made me inspect it when he was in the bath and it was still hurting. It's got a bit of a bump to it too.
For a hot day Plum had very little feeds and very infrequently until we got home and then she had two huge feeds within an hour of each other. Plum and I shared a bath tonight, which was lovely and our bed time rhythm was slightly disrupted by Plum's late afternoon marathon sleep and Bean's sleep on the journey home.
No comments:
Post a Comment